Welcome
by WonderPickle
Summary: Keith returns to the castle and Lance gives him a welcome he was NOT expecting. Klance. Set somewhere in season five before Krolia.
1. In Your Arms

**so...this is my first Voltron fic. it definitely won't be my last. I finally caught up last week and I'm having a lot of Klance feels.**

 **since this is my first fic and it's my first time writing these characters, it's kinda rough, and I recognize that. please just don't leave any hurtful comments about it.**

 **the second (and final) chapter should be posted in the next few days. hope you enjoy:)**

* * *

When Keith flew in the castle's bay, it was completely empty. He'd gotten in contact with Shiro a few vargas ago to say he was coming back for good, but he didn't know if Shiro mentioned it to any of the others. Not that it really mattered. They'd see him eventually. He just hoped they weren't all upstairs prepping a welcome home party or anything that extreme. He was _so_ far from being in the mood.

He was still bitter. _Justifiably_ bitter.

He'd been cut from the Blade of Mamora. His drive to save lives finally became too controversial for their methods. Maybe it was for the best. But maybe it wasn't. It seemed like it wasn't.

Keith sighed.

At least they let him take a ship.

He landed swiftly and hopped out, immediately heading for the doors.

There _was_ an upside to this. He got to see everyone. His _real_ family, not whoever the Mamora wouldn't tell him about.

He'd missed them all a lot more than he thought he would.

He'd missed _Lance_ a lot more than he thought he would.

Lance was the biggest reason why Keith left. Wanting Shiro to get the Black Lion back was a _very_ close second.

At first, during the early days of their team, Keith was just a boy with a crush. And then he spent more time with Lance and saw everything behind the goofball exterior. It all went downhill from there. Soon enough, he realized he'd fallen _hard_. When the Blade of Mamora came, it was the perfect opportunity to escape his feelings and convince himself he was moving on. He couldn't be in love with one of the other Paladins. It couldn't work, it shouldn't work, and it wouldn't work.

Besides, Lance didn't see him in that way. Lance saw Keith as the "lone wolf" that hated him.

Just the opposite of that, actually. Even after his time away, Keith was still in _big_ trouble.

The door opened across the bay. He looked down and blinked, only to realize he'd barely progressed across the floor.

He shook it off.

Keith squinted as a familiar figure, one he'd seen plenty of times in his dreams, came strutting in. Walking quickly, his jacket flared out behind him like a cape. "Hunk? Are you in here, man? I've been looking for you all over the castle!"

"Lance?" Keith dreaded the answer to his question.

"Keith?" Lance raised his eyebrows. He strode into better view, away from the dark in the corners. "You're not Hunk."

"What gave me away?" Keith deadpanned.

Lance was clearly too confused to laugh. "What are you doing here?" He narrowed his eyes. "Just visiting? Need to talk battle strategies? Shiro's in the-"

Keith shook his head and interrupted with a stern, "No. I'm," his inhale bridged his words together and made them sound more like one, "back for good."

Hunching his shoulders, Lance frowned. "What happened to the Blade of Mamora?"

Keith looked down and scowled. His voice lowered. "Nothing worth talking about."

Lance's pace slowed, but he kept moving forward. With every step, his cheeks grew more flushed. Dark locks of hair tumbled around his face, the breeze pushing them across his forehead. The echo of his footsteps bounced off the walls. It was the only thing making any noise.

Well. The only thing they could both hear making any noise. Keith's head was screaming and his heart was roaring. He forgot what it felt like to be around Lance. But that was part of the reason he left in the first place, to forget his feelings. They'd gotten to be too much. Just admiring how attractive Lance was right now, it wasn't hard to remember why.

Keith braced himself for a hug. He hadn't expected to see Lance before anyone else. But it was hard to really know much of anything when it came to Lance. At least he could get it over with.

Even though he'd been picturing their reunion for so long, thinking and dreaming about it all the time, he didn't want to go through with it. He knew his heart would clench the way it used to, it was already starting. And he knew his breath would catch in his throat.

He clenched his already sweaty fists and swallowed.

Lance didn't hug him, though. Lance did something a lot different.

He got much closer than Keith anticipated, putting one hand on each cheek. Keith froze and went pale. Lance leaned his face in. Keith tried to stop his heart from beating out of his chest, but he couldn't move.

They'd been this close before. During training sessions and whatever, they'd practically been on top of each other. But within a few painfully slow ticks, Keith realized how different this was. Lance had never looked at him the way he was right now. Keith's stomach drowned in a wave of butterflies. His face grew warm like it'd been stuck under a heat lamp. All of his body went numb.

"I missed you so much," Lance whispered.

Keith wanted to ask Lance what he was doing. He wanted to say that he missed Lance, too. He wanted to say that he thought of Lance every morning when he woke up and every night when he went to sleep, that he constantly daydreamed about things he shouldn't have, that he had felt like he was dying because he didn't get to see the person he loved most every day. But he couldn't. Because _Lance's_ face was so close to _his_ and _holy quiznacks_ their breaths were mixing together and he couldn't talk.

Keith tried to look into Lance's eyes again. But they were focused on his lips.

And before he could get a word out, Lance was kissing him.

 _Lance was kissing him_.

He didn't know what to do.

He wasn't sure how this happened or why it did, but he was sure it felt better than he ever could've imagined. His heart smiled inside his chest, giddy and grinning. Something lit his internal butterflies on fire.

He should've pulled away. They were teammates. They were friends. It wasn't supposed to work. That's _exactly_ why he'd been repressing his feelings for so long. That, and in ten thousand deca-phoebs he never would've thought Lance felt anything back. This was...was this even real?

Keith opened his mouth to say something, but Lance took that as an opportunity to slide his tongue inside. His fingers shifted, curling around the back of Keith's neck.

Keith's world started to spin because this was everything he'd ever dreamed about. It was _Lance_ and it was _him_ and he didn't know how to process.

He realized his body had betrayed him before consulting his brain first. His arms were around Lance's waist now, and they were pulling him as close as possible. He shut his eyes. Their heartbeats were moving faster than the Black Lion did while chasing after a Galra ship, falling in sync. Lance leaned into his touch.

One by one, Keith's thoughts were slowly slipping away. At first, he tried holding on. But then Lance bit into his bottom lip and he didn't want to think anymore.

Their noses bumped together and neither of them cared. Lance tilted his head, getting his mouth closer. Keith's previous reluctance melted into his feet. Now, he made sure to let Lance know that he wanted this. He pushed harder with his mouth. Lance's tongue started to recede. Keith moved his own to shove it back, using the same method Lance had only a tick ago.

After he groaned somewhere in the back of his throat, it became clear Lance wasn't about to protest.

His lips caught on Keith's, chapped skin against even more chapped skin. Raising his head, Keith lifted them apart. But Lance immediately took his bottom lip and caught it between his own. They were soft and warm and tasted better than Keith ever thought, like a glass of cold water after years of parching thirst. He let it happen, instead focusing his attention on his tongue in Lance's mouth. Its movements were nowhere near smooth, grazing teeth and gums and everything else. Lance nipped at him. Keith flicked again, though on purpose this time. Lance huffed. The breath passed into Keith's mouth, and he realized he didn't know the last time he had a fresh breath of air. Lance must've read his mind, because they simultaneously pulled back. Neither of them moved away more than an inch. Their lips were as close as they could be without touching.

Keith was dizzy and disoriented. They held onto each other for support, each of them breathing hard.

"That felt…" Lance panted, his forehead tipping against Keith's, " _real_."

"What are you talking about?" Keith whispered back. He smoothed his hands over Lance's back. "That _was_ real."

He furrowed his brows and frowned, breathing still heavy. "I have no idea what you mean. I...only ever see you in my dreams now. You're...you're with the Blade of Mamora. But that...didn't feel like a dream."

A pit grew in Keith's stomach and swallowed the butterflies whole. His face got red. _Not_ in the way he wanted. " _Lance_. It's _me_. It's Keith. I'm here."

Lance shook his head, sending a sharp sting through Keith. "That's...crazy. You've been gone for a while now."

"You're _not_ dreaming," Keith insisted, voice cracking.

Lance stepped back, breaking their touch. Keith's fingers and lips tingled. He didn't feel right without Lance. He swallowed hard.

Blinking, Lance looked around the bay. He frowned and wrinkled his forehead. Keith's heart sunk into his feet. Rolling up his sleeve, Lance pinched his arm, and all Keith could do was watch. "Ow!" he yelped, now peering at the red spot on his dark skin. But the pain promptly faded and he raised his eyes slowly up to Keith. Everything chipped away from his face except a raw, desperate panic. " _Oh_. This...this isn't a dream. You and me...we were _kissing_. With-with tongue and stuff! I've never actually _done_ that before...holy quiznacks…"

Keith's voice shattered as it came out. He tried to breath. It didn't work well, he almost choked. "Sorry to disappoint you." He didn't mean to snap but then he realized did. "Guess I'm not what you hoped for."

Miraculously, he got his feet to move. He aimed his head towards the ground and blinked away the sting. He walked faster with every step, pushing himself to get out as quick as he could.

"Wait! Keith!" Lance cried after him.

Keith kept walking.


	2. Nothing but You

**thanks for all the positivity I received on this story! I really appreciate it! :)**

 **hope you enjoy the last part to this little drabble. it has a happy ending, I swear.**

 **thanks for reading!**

* * *

Lance wanted to crawl in a hole and never leave. The moment he'd been dreaming about for so long? Totally screwed it up. _Not_ what he wanted to happen. At all.

He'd wanted to kiss Keith since...oh he didn't even _know_ when. _Forever_ , he estimated. He thought about it all the time! Sometimes they'd all be in the bridge, he'd look over at Keith and his heart would melt, always making him turn to flirt with Allura instead. To distract himself. Cause Keith didn't feel the same way, right?

Well. It seemed like the answer was _wrong_.

But he didn't know what to think. He couldn't even _breathe_. How could he _think_ right now?

He didn't even _want_ to think. Lance just wanted to kiss Keith again. And he never wanted to stop.

He groaned.

Could that even happen, though? Keith sent a lot of mixed signals. First he was moody, like normal, then he didn't want to kiss Lance, then he _did_ , then he stormed off...what was a guy to do? Lance was so confused. So confused.

What did _it_ mean? Was the right thing to go after Keith? Or was the right thing to just give him space?

Well. He literally _just_ got back from his time away with the Blade of Marmora. That was plenty of space. Plenty for Lance, at least.

He knew what _he_ wanted to do. But what did _Keith_ want?

...Wasn't there only one way to find out?

* * *

When Lance found Keith, he staring up at the Red Lion. His hands dangled by his thighs, but they were tense. His whole body was.

Lance didn't like it. That discomfort forced him forward. He cleared his throat awkwardly to push out all of his anxiety and his nerves. ...Well. _Most_ of them.

"Uh...Keith?"

"What is it, Lance?" He sounded hollow, tired, and like he just wanted Lance to go away. And the way Keith said Lance's name reminded him of drinking something too hot and spitting it out before it burned.

Lance stepped closer as his chest clenched. "Can we talk?"

"I don't think we have anything to talk about."

Something felt wrong in his legs. He looked down to realize they were trembling. Swallowing, he raised his eyes again. He faced Lotor and Zarkon and worse things all the time. Talking to the one person he enjoyed doing it with the most? Easy. ...Right?

"Keith…" his voice shed its initial anxious skin, "we can't let this go. It would just become a huge thing and jeopardize the team for no reason. ...Please can we just...can we just talk?"

Keith sighed like he had a pile of bricks on his chest. He did turn around, but it took longer than Lance would've hoped. When their eyes met, a spark set the air between them on fire. Keith looked away. "Lance, I really don't want to have this conversation. Let's just forget the whole thing and never tell anyone about it, okay? I already know how you feel anyway."

Lance's face got warm and he nearly dove for cover. He didn't succeed in hiding his disappointment well. Or his embarrassment. His words wobbled. "Oh. I...I guess I didn't do a very good job of keeping it a secret, huh?" He scratched the back of his neck.

"Yeah," Keith bit back. "Everyone knows you hate me." The second part lost most of the edge, dulling to an ashamed snap. He crossed his arms and stared at the floor.

Cocking his head, Lance furrowed his brows. "Wait, what? Are you _crazy_?" Keith raised his sullen eyes. Lance wanted to do everything in his power to fix them. For now, though, he settled on closing the gap between their bodies. "You think I _hate_ you?"

"Am I wrong?"

Lance flung his arms outward. " _Yes_!"

In a tick, Keith's expression went from bitterly defeated to slightly hopeful. He didn't look like the same person as before. The wrinkles in his forehead ironed out across his skin. Each corner of his mouth climbed up from the miserable dimples used to frown with. "Lance, wha-"

"Why do you think I would've...y'know... _kissed_ you if I actually hated you?"

Keith tried for a shrug. "To make fun of me? I don't...I don't know. I have no clue what goes through your head."

"I'm not _that_ big of a jerk!"

" _I don't know_!" Keith repeated, voice raising, though not nearly to the same level as Lance's. "I just...I didn't think it was because of any reason other than you hating me."

Lance pursed his lips. He was tempted to put a hand on Keith's shoulder, but he refrained. "Are you _so_ self-deprecating that you can't see how little sense your logic makes?"

Keith looked like he wanted to bury himself in his crossed arms. "Maybe. I don't know."

Lance ran his tongue over his lips, slowly and thoughtfully. It immediately hooked Keith's eyes, which hadn't been his intention, but it was still satisfying. He remembered their kiss from earlier, how satisfying _it_ was, how it was better than all the ones he'd ever dreamed about. Honestly, he hadn't stopped thinking about it.

He remembered it was _real_ , not just a dream. It _happened_. And Keith kissed him back. The way it made him feel was something he couldn't make up. But if he wanted to feel like that again, he'd have to man up, right here and right now. This was when all his burning questions could get answered. He _wanted_ this. He didn't want to be just Lance or Lance without Keith because he felt like he wasn't anyway.

 _Here goes nothing._

"Keith...I _never_ hated you. Not once." Lance thought he was stumbling. But he saw the look on Keith's face, and he needed to find out what it meant. So he pushed ahead. "Sure, I was jealous of you back at the Garrison. You were so _cool_. I envied you. And...I still did when we became teammates. But that went away quick. I sort of...got a crush on you."

Keith choked on purely air. " _Huh_?" he sputtered.

Lance's face grew warmer than his sister Veronica did when she had a bad fever as a kid. He swallowed, but didn't feel ready to start again and swallowed a second time. When did his palms get so sweaty? He looked at his feet. "I don't have one anymore." Something in Keith's eyes shattered and Lance instantly regretted his choice of words. "No!" he said hastily, waving his hands. "No, that's not what I meant! At all! I swear! It's more than just a crush now. It's...it's evolved."

Keith watched him carefully, barely holding his composure. "Evolved into _what_?"

"Well...just...I mean...you know how I always...tease you and stuff?" Keith nodded slowly. "How I always make fun of you? I'm...just...I'm trying to hide the fact that…that I'm in love with you. That's why I said I've been dreaming about you. I...haven't stopped since you left."

Keith choked again, his voice strained when he said, "Lance..."

With a sheepish laugh, Lance itched a random spot on the back of his head. His cheeks flushed. "I know. It's...it's a lot to take in. I know it'll be weird to get used to…but I just…"

"Lance-"

"No," he waved his name off, "no, you don't have to say anything. It's okay. I have-"

" _Lance_." Keith's voice hardened.

Lance pouted and took a breath. "You... _don't_ want me to explain myself?"

"You don't have to." Keith bit his lip. Now it was his turn to look away. "I'm...I'm in love with you, too."

Lance's eyes widened. He stepped back, but nearly tripped over his own feet. When he regained himself and recovered from the shock, he connected his gaze with Keith's. Lance's stomach got giddy. A grin stretched across his face, pulling the corners of his mouth higher than he ever knew they could go.

Before Keith could get a word out, Lance jumped on him. Lance kissed him like his lips were a drug he was desperate to taste and Keith kissed him back like he never wanted to be tasted by anyone else ever again.


End file.
